How do employee reviews (Glassdoor, kununu) affect employer brand?

Public review platforms are trusted reputation signals precisely because candidates believe employees over corporate messaging. They shape perception before a candidate ever contacts you, so they act as an always-on, uncontrollable part of your brand. The right response is to monitor them, reply professionally and without defensiveness, and treat recurring themes as genuine feedback about the experience. Act on the substance rather than the score, because candidates can spot gamed ratings and canned responses. The pitfall is trying to manage the reviews instead of the reality they describe, by soliciting positive posts or arguing with critics, when the durable fix is improving the underlying employee experience so better reviews follow naturally.